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Resolution in Support of Fair and Transparent Non-Partisan Redistricting to Restore
Representative Government in Michigan
Submitted by the Michigan Nurses Association Board of Directors
WHEREAS
member-leaders of the Michigan Nurses Association, the largest union and
professional organization representing Registered Nurses and other health-care
professionals in Michigan, direct our public policy agenda; and,
WHEREAS
the MNA is a nonpartisan organization which works with all lawmakers,
regardless of party, to advance public policy that advocates for our members’
professions, our patients, and working families; and,
WHEREAS
gerrymandering establishes an unfair political advantage for a particular party
or group by manipulating geographic, voting district boundaries which creates
biased, partisan advantaged districts; and
WHEREAS
the 2014 State of Michigan election results demonstrated the continued unfair
consequences from longstanding gerrymandering in Michigan as evidenced by:
o in the state House races, Republicans garnered 48.8% of the total votes
cast statewide, yet only won 57% (63 of 110) of the state House seats;
and,
o in the state Senate races, Republicans garnered 50.7% of the total votes
cast statewide, yet increased their supermajority by controlling 71% (27 of
38) of the state Senate seats; and,
o in the federal Congressional races in Michigan, Republicans garnered
47.6% of the vote statewide, yet won 64% (9 of 14) of the Congressional
seats;1 and,
WHEREAS
the Michigan Nurses Association opposes the scheme of State House Bill 4310
and State Senate Bill 197 that would disregard the will of Michigan voters by
awarding Presidential Electoral Votes on the basis of unfair, gerrymandered
federal Congressional districts which would have rigged the 500,000 Michigan
vote victory of the current President into a 9-7 Electoral Vote recalculation for
the candidate that received the minority of the Michigan votes2; and,
WHEREAS
the Supreme Court of the United States in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) concerns
representation in state legislative districts and calls for ‘one person, one vote,"
and both state houses in legislatures to be apportioned by population rather
than geographic districts3; and,
WHEREAS
Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law in its most
recent Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting4, stated redistricting yields tremendous
opportunities for creating fair and equal representation in government, and
recommends an open and transparent redistricting process to ensure that those
who are elected reflect the will of and serve voters; and
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
that the Michigan Nurses Association maintains the
current, gerrymandered districts for state House and
Senate races as well as the federal Congressional House
races are fundamentally flawed, unfair, and disregard
the will of voting citizens in Michigan; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that gerrymandering erodes the public’s faith in a
representative republic; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
the MNA moves to redress this injustice by calling on
the Governor and state legislature by establishing a
non-partisan, redistricting commission to create fair
districts in an open and transparent process, and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that this non-partisan, redistricting commission shall be
composed of only registered voters who have never
been appointed or elected to public office, who have
not been employed by any political party in the last five
years, who have never received any compensation in
any form as a registered lobbyist, and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that members of this non-partisan, redistricting
commission shall not be permitted to solicit or accept
any gifts or any compensation in any form from any
registered lobbyists, corporations, unions, political
action committees, or nonprofit 501(c) or 527
organizations registered in Michigan; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that this non-partisan, redistricting commission shall be
subject to both the Open Meetings Act as well as the
Freedom of Information Act; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
that member-leaders and Legislative Liaisons of the
MNA become equipped to inform members at their
locals and neighbors in their communities of the need
to create fair voting districts in our state by eliminating
the partisan process that results in gerrymandering, and
that the MNA will work with others of good will to
restore representative government in the great State of
Michigan.
SUBMITTED BY
MNA Board of Directors; authored by
John Armelagos, RN, MNA President
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REFERENCES
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http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2014/11/11/the-gerrymandering-in-michigan/
1
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/03/15/3633859/bill-rig-electoral-college-resurfaces-michigan/
2
http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/constitutional-law/constitutional-law-keyed-tochemerinsky/fundamental-fights-under-due-process-and-equal-protection/reynolds-v-sims/2/
3
https://www.brennancenter.org/publication/citizens-guide-redistricting
4
3